Miniature Portrait Paintings

It is amazing what can be done with a 18/0 liner brush. I'm a paint bush junkie, every time I go to the art store I pick up more brushes. But this little one looked nice, had a thick handle and a tiny bush. I was thinking that it would be great for doing eyes on my 2 7/8 inch Christmas Ornaments. Now, this seemed to be quite tiny to me, and I wasn't sure I could paint smaller than that!  I had painted round glass, flat porcelain and was getting pretty good with my larger brushes. So, I decided to try out the new tiny brush and go a bit smaller.

I found out that I could paint a pet portrait as small as an inch! Much to my surprise. All I needed was a pair of reading glasses and a good steady hand. This tiny bush could make fast work of a tiny pet portrait. First I painted on pebbles. It was addictive, I painted, peacocks, Macaws, dogs, horses and giraffes in just a couple of days.
I named them Pet Pebbles for your pocket, and listed several on Etsy, and sold quite a few. They were cute and unique.


Quite a few months ago I had purchased a bag of marble accents. They were glass marbles that were flattened and were about one inch wide. There they sat and waited for me to get brave enough to try the most tiny pet portraits. After my experience with the pebbles I was ready.
I had a sale on Facebook for the first 10 people they could get a custom pet portrait marble painting, with a sterling bail and silver chain for $20.00. I  sold six in two days.  I try to offer my services at a reasonable price so that people can afford unique gifts. So, my price point was lower than a lot of people miniature paintings, but geez - how much paint do you use! Painting a one inch surface with my tiny brush takes about one hour. It is not easy to paint small if your hands shake or if your eye sight is not good.

 

As a full time artist I like to explore and learn new things. Painting miniature pet portraits is very rewarding, and gives my clients something small they can afford to purchase.

For Christmas, I'll be adding painted semi-precious gem stones at a bit higher price point, they will be lighter and more uniform. 

If you would like a unique gift - contact me. I'm here to help as a commission artist.